Memories In A Painting
by mikamilk
Summary: Yao/Kiku AU. Side-story to 'Crane of Japan'. In the last days of his life, all he wished for was the happiness of the one he loved. This story is set after 'His Light' and contains spoilers for 'Crane of Japan'. It is rated T for character death.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Axis Powers Hetalia. **

**NOTE: So, I add yet another chapter to my Crane of Japan series. This is a side-story to 'Crane of Japan' and is set after 'His Light'. Therefore, contains SPOILERS for both of the above mentioned. **

**WARNING: Character death.**

**Memories In A Painting**

**By Mikamilk**

She stood before a tall, framed painting. gazing into the kind eyes of the man there. Every last brushstroke of this work of art was done by the very hands of the previous Emperor himself. The only memories she had of the man staring back at her were all very fond.

They were very dear to her…

SSSSSS

Two ladies escorted by an imperial guard swept down the long hallways of the Emperor's quarters in the Palace of Quiet Light. They travelled in silence, the swishing of the ladies' silk dresses the only sound that could be heard as they made their way. Following behind the imperial guard and walking a pace in front of her attendant was a beautiful girl, in the bloom of youth—a captivating young lady. The cheongsam that hugged her soft figure—emerald green with lace trimming the sleeves and high collar—was not only made of the finest silks and of a design vogue amongst the noble women of China, but was the perfect choice for bringing out the brown in her eyes, the bronze of her complexion and the black of her long, oiled locks. She strode with poise and pride yet beneath the surface was a sea of uncertainty, hiding at the depths of her brown orbs and humble heart.

Much sooner than she had anticipated, the imperial guard turned into a dimly lit antechamber halting before a closed door. He sharply spun around to face the two ladies; an indication of their arrival. Wordlessly, the man lifted a hand and rested it against the wooden door to slide it open. However, he was stopped before he could go any further.

"Please, if I may, I would like a moment."

Without question, the imperial guard withdrew his hand and stepped away from the door with a respectful bow. The girl in the green cheongsam closed her eyes, deep in thought. Was she ready for this? To take on the future waiting just beyond this door?

After a moment or two had passed by in silence, the attendant leant forward to whisper quietly into the girl's ear. "It is not yet too late if you feel you do not wish to proceed…"

A further moment passed followed by the girl slowly opening her eyes with a shake of her head.

"I will enter alone," the girl said simply as she advanced towards the door. "Fang."

Immediately, the attendant stepped up to the door and slid it open with ease.

The moment the door opened, the girl's eyes were filled with a flood of brightness. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through the door and as she passed over the threshold the door was closed behind her. When her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the sunlit room, which took a moment due to the contrast from the dim hallways, she found herself looking directly into dark, powerful eyes.

"Come."

Quickly, she entered further into the room. When she was close enough she felt her hand being taken, gently guiding her down to sit upon a prepared cushion. Once she was seated, her eyes fell on the man who had taken her hand—the Emperor. But their eye-contact was only held for a brief moment for she quickly turned her attention to another man who was right in front of her. He was laying on a white mattress, the skin of his face and exposed neck was of almost the same paleness of the mattress and the quilt covering him. But the eyes gazing straight back into hers along with his hair were as dark as the night—it was like charcoal against chalk.

"I…" Unsure what to do or say, the girl's hand quivered. Suddenly, a smooth palm was placed on top of her shaking hands. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw the man in the bed give her a smile.

It was the warmest smile she had ever seen in her life.

_In the distance a figure was walking amongst the trees, surrounded by peonies, bathed in twilight. The man was taking small, careful steps, his chin raised slightly and his eyes slanted up into the night sky. It was in the next moment that the man's peaceful walk was disrupted when he suddenly tripped, the long coat that reached to the ground fluttering hopelessly as he descended towards the ground._

"_Xiaodan!" In a flash, he was by the man's side, holding him tightly in his arms having caught the man before he could hit the ground. "Are you okay?" _

"_Yao-san." A delicate hand automatically reached up to take hold of a strong shoulder. "Thank you." _

_Carefully, the larger man rearranged them both so they were sitting comfortably on the grass, an arm still wrapped around the smaller man's shoulders, the other gently laying a head in the crook of his neck. _

"_You shouldn't be out here," Yao murmured, brushing wisps of his love's hair away from his eyes. "It's too cold-aru." _

_Kiku offered an apologetic smile before turning his gaze up into the sky once more. "This is your favourite place for watching the moon."_

"_Yes, it is-aru," Yao said, stealing a quick glimpse of the round moon high in the clear sky before returning his gaze to the man in his arms. "Why don't we come again on another evening? Maybe in the summer it will be nicer-aru." _

"_But, then it will no longer be your favourite place," Kiku said, the look in his eyes telling the other that he was adamant on staying where he was. _

"_Don't be silly," Yao chuckled, hugging Kiku a little closer to his chest. "This has always been my favourite place. It's not going to change that easily-aru." _

_Shaking his head, Kiku glanced over his surroundings, inhaling deeply. "It isn't you who will change, it is the seasons that change."_

_Yao sat in puzzlement for a moment until a sweet scent was carried towards him on a passing breeze. "Ah,..peonies." _

_Kiku nodded, a content smile on his lips. "Yes, I know this is your favourite place because the peonies are most beautiful here, especially under a full moon. Soon, the peonies will fall."_

_After Kiku's last statement a blanket of silence ascended on the two men. They both knew that this would probably be the last time that they would be able to share an evening under the full moon surrounded by the many peonies blooming about the garden. _

"_Yao-san?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_What will happen to our dynasty?"_

_Worry instantly shadowed Yao's eyes and he distractedly shifted them to the side to settle on a cluster of peonies rocking in the wind. "Don't concern yourself with that Xiaodan. It'll be okay-aru. Let's talk about something else." _

"_But, it is my fault." _

_Despite the Chinese man's attempt of steering the conversation away from the topic, it seemed that Kiku was not in the mood to settle with that this particular evening. Absently, Yao took one of Kiku's hands into his; it was so cold compared to his own which didn't surprise him but did scare him. Very much so._

"_Why don't you rethink the possibility of one of your younger siblings—"_

"_No-aru." Yao bit his lip when he felt Kiku tense in his arms due to the harsh tone he had just used. Closing his eyes for a moment and inhaling slowly through his nose, Yao let the anger boiling in his chest cool down—for Xiaodan's sake, he told himself, not ever because he would forgive, condone or even accept what his siblings had done. "Know that they will all be exiled from this palace, from China. I will make sure of it." _

"_Yao-san, t-they had meant well," Kiku said quietly, a trace of grief in his voice. _

"_Nothing will give justice for what they did," Yao declared. He was gradually losing control of his emotions, feeling a sting in his eyes and a tightness in his throat and chest. Detecting this, Kiku gave Yao a small kiss leaving a smile on Yao's lips when he pulled away. _

"_They just want to preserve the dynasty, Yao-san." _

_Yes, that was true and Yao knew that. But he also knew that that was their _only_ interest and for it they had proved that they would go to any extreme—they had poisoned the one most precious to him and now that man was growing ever weaker by the day. His siblings had tried persistently for many years to set up concubines for him, but he had refused to even share a cup of tea with any of them let alone spend a night with the women who had been presented to him. He loved Kiku and he would take no other—not even for the purpose of producing an heir. For Yao, such a dry, heartless act was unthinkable. _

_The simple solution would have been for one of his siblings to ascend to the throne after Yao's reign had come to an end. Alas, tradition of the Wang Dynasty had for centuries seen the son of the Emperor succeed his father. That was the supreme law for a pure House. _

"_I'm sorry," whispered Yao. He had neglected the issue for too long. His siblings had deemed that if Kiku was no longer there naturally he would find himself a wife or produce a legitimate heir with a concubine. And how terribly wrong they all were in their assumptions. "Xiaodan…"_

"_How about Hongkong-san?" _

_With sadness, Yao shook his head to Kiku's suggestion. "Only the child of the Emperor can rise as the successor. Also, although this has been kept silent, Hong was born between my aunt and a lover whom she was not—and could not be—officially wed to. So Hong will not be accepted to the throne-aru." With a chuckle, Yao added, "My aunt once told me that the man she had loved was the most talented she had ever seen in the art of brewing tea." _

_Yao raised his eyes to the moon. The tea brewer who had served for the Wang Dynasty had quietly vanished from the palace soon after the pregnancy was discovered. Luckily, his aunt's pleadings to save the unborn child had been heeded and permitted, only because there was no possibility of her child rising to power—and in turn tainting the purity of their family. So, she had been removed from the palace and given a place to give birth to and raise her child away from the royal palace where there were many a prying eye. It was only when Hongkong had grown older that he began making brief visits to the Palace of Quiet Light, slowly finding his place… _

_The moon blurred in Yao's eyes. At the moment, he did not want to think about the dynasty, about heirs, about legitimacy. All he cared for was the limited time that remained of Kiku's life… _

"_Yao-san, please…I do not want to take away any happiness awaiting you in the future after I am gone."_

"_Xiaodan." Wrapping two protective arms around Kiku's fragile frame, Yao positioned them to be face-to-face. Sliding a hand up to caress Kiku's head, stroking the silken strands of his hair, Yao pressed his lips into the other's. To begin with, there was a bittersweet mixture of sorrow, grief, affection and longing in the kiss they shared. But as the kiss grew deeper it took them away from the pains of reality; the essence of love flowing through the two men, making them whole. _

"_Yao-san…" Kiku murmured after breaking away from their kiss, pressing his  
nose into Yao's neck. "Please, find a wife. It is my last and only wish."_

Kiku's eyes lingered on the girl seated by his bed. She was beautiful, her long hair was just like Yao's; she almost reminded him of Yao in his youth. He could tell without even speaking to her what a wonderful, intelligent, vibrant young lady she must be.

So, she was the one Yao had chosen.

"This is Meimei," Yao told Kiku, smiling and laying a hand on the girl's shoulder. "And Meimei, this is Xiaodan."

The girl introduced as Meimei bowed her head as a polite greeting. Even without Yao to inform her she had known who the man lying on the mattress was. She assumed there was not a single soul in China who would not know him; not only for being the Emperor's consort but also as the country's most renowned doctor. "The contributions you have made to the medical world is so great—there are no words to describe the admiration and gratitude that I, and undoubtedly every soul in China and many a nation across the seas, have for what you have achieved and offered to the world."

"You give me too much praise," Kiku laughed with modesty. Then, he addressed Yao. He struggled to look his love straight in the eyes feeling a strange ache in his heart. There was nothing more than he wished for other than Yao's happiness, yet why did it hurt so? "So, Yao-san I guess she is…"

"Yes, that's right-aru," Yao said. "Meimei will be the next Empress of China after my rule."

One of Kiku's eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Meimei has suffered a great loss of both of her parents-aru," Yao explained, giving the girl a sincere look of deep sympathy. "So, I have adopted her."

"Adopted?" Kiku echoed, surprised by the unexpected turn of events.

"Yes." Gently but with an assuring strength, Yao reached out a hand to cover Kiku's which was still rested upon Meimei's palm. "Xiaodan, Meimei is our daughter."

"Daughter…" Taken by surprise, at first Kiku could do nothing but stare up into the girl's face. Then gradually, understanding set in. All at once, the pain that Kiku had felt was lifted. Tears prickled his eyes, a bright smile on his lips. "Meimei?"

The peace Meimei saw reflected in his eyes was so wholesome that it was almost impossible for her to believe that Kiku, now her father, was indeed dying. "Yes?" she murmured leaning down a little closer to Kiku.

"I know it will be no easy task for you," Kiku began. "But can I trust you to take care of Yao-san for me?"

"Of course," Meimei replied, offering a broad smile.

"Thank you," Kiku said, raising a weak hand to lay on his daughter's cheek. "Do keep an eye on him, Meimei. I can tell you that he can get up to all sorts of mischief."

"Xiaodan, I am not that difficult to handle surely-aru," Yao said in defence of himself, his statement accompanied with hearty laughter.

Although it was only for a very short time, Kiku treasured the last days of his life that were spent together with Yao and Meimei.

As a family.

SSSSSS

A small smile graced her lips, her eyes closed, eyelashes brushing softly against her lightly tanned cheeks. She pressed her hands to her heart, her memories of Yao and Kiku filling her mind. Had the two finally reunited? she wondered silently.

"Your Royal Highness!"

With one last look at the painting, she turned around and began making her way down the hallway in the direction of her attendant's calling voice. "Fang, I'm coming!"

Just yesterday she had been inaugurated as Empress of China.

**SSSSSS**

**NOTE: I am really, reeeally sorry for writing such a sad story. I wasn't sure that I should write the kind of an 'end' but this idea just wouldn't leave my mind…Also, I have finals next week so naturally I'm procrastinating…**

**Also, were the layers of the story confusing? I hope it was okay. **

**Thank you so much for reading!**


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